Sinking Boats and New Teachers

A quick update tonight, as I have been busy all day. Perhaps you remember a while ago, when I went to Kui. On my way to Kui, I saw a funny boat and took a picture of it. A few days ago, I was at one of the schools I taught at, cleaning out my desk and making sure everything was ready for the next teachers. I saw a copy of the Chugoku Shimbun (The Central Japan Newspaper) and a picture on the front page caught my eye. I opened it up, and thought to myself "wow, a boat that looks just like the one I saw flipped over!

Then I looked closer.

It is the same boat! The Cougar Ace, from Singapore, that left Hiroshima and crossed paths with the ferry I was on had some sort of major malfunction at sea and heeled over 60 degrees to port off the coast of Alaska. Ironically enough, it is not sinking, just floating along on its side. 4,700 new Mazdas are stuck inside.

First, what are the odds of that happening. Second, what are the odds of that happening to a ship I saw passing Osakikamijima a week earlier? Third, what are the odds that having flipped over, the boat would be photographed, put on the front page of the newspaper here, and I would happen to come in to school and see a two-day-old newspaper with this picture on the cover? I would bet extremely low. The strange part is that this story came a so close to passing by without me even noticing. I wonder how many things have passed by me like that, interesting things that I just missed by chance or circumstance.

This does raise an interesting point. It was a beautiful day and I was taking a lot of pictures, and I took three pictures of the Cougar Ace - I have no way of knowing this for sure, but these may be the last pictures taken of the Cougar Ace before it flipped.

I should find the Captain and mail this picture to him.

Other newsflashes from the front:

1. I have just about finished packing and mailing stuff home, the total bill for sending my stuff home by mail is working out to about $700. That is a lot of money. I am sending stuff in Osaki Mikan (tangerine) boxes. I will have a nice collection of awesome boxes when I get home, and also an excellent cat. Here is a picture of those things together:

2. And the big news, today we can say hello to Graham Ruddle, who landed in Hiroshima at half past one today, and has filled the spot that Megan left vacant six months ago. He's on the island, living downstairs, and ladies...

...he is a handsome man. A JET who shall remain nameless told me she regretted deciding to go home, because she would have rather stayed and gotten to know Graham. Her words, not mine.

We did a tour of the island, got some groceries, and then went to the beach to put our toes in the inland sea. After standing there for a few minutes, Graham said "could you do me a favor? Could you take a picture of me here on my first day so I can put it on my blog?"

I'll put it on my blog too. Seems that after all he's my kind of guy.

I'm going to be in Hiroshima, possibly sleeping in a car Friday night, so expect the next blog to be on Saturday.

This entry was posted
on Thursday, August 03, 2006 at 12:50 AM.
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